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Descriptions

Court cases, wills, and letters are common examples of surviving primary texts
from colonial Latin America. These documents are important to historians because they
provide a unique glimpse into the lives of ordinary people who lived hundreds of years
ago. This thesis is a recreation of these types of primary documents. The examples
presented are completely fictional, but all of the themes, motifs, and details have been
extensively researched by reading primary texts and translations. Woven within these
fictional documents is a narrative that represents the real struggles and issues that
colonial Latin Americans faced in their lives. Themes present in these documents will
include honor, love, marriage, piety and more. The goal of this thesis is to create an
accurate picture of life and death in colonial Latin America, while also exploring some
aspects of human nature that will always be relevant.